As a senior at UCLA, my time here is coming to an end. I have learned a lot here. How challenging it can be to keep your spirits up. How many things I can be passionate about. How little I know about the world around me. I came to this school bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to be an artist…then I had a detour in both the history and astrophysics departments, trying to find that thing. That thing that I can do that I will be proud to wake up at 4 a.m. for. That thing that my grandchildren will want me to tell them about every Christmas. It’s hard to find someone to confide in about what that thing is someone wants…because all humans are looking for it. So, I talked to a squirrel about this. Pretty insightful conversation actually…I realized that I was confiding in a squirrel. I figured that biology is my thing.

I have accumulated many experiences since I developed my understanding and deep passion for biology and life in general, or biophilia as E.O. Wilson would say. Now, I have the rare opportunity to get out of this monotonous text book and powerpoint slide world and enter the real world…the wild world. To finally put all of this information swarming around in my head to use. To enter the deep rainforest at Refugio Bartola in Nicaragua with thirteen other intelligent and charismatic classmates and four very inspiring instructors.

An adventure has come into my hands in which not only do I get to explore a rarely seen and incredibly exuberant and diverse world, I get to learn about it. I get to ask the questions. Curiosity. I get to stand in the middle of rainforest, between giant buttress trees, towering over me as if I were a mere spec in the vast chasm of filtering light and lush plants crawling with insects and hiding predatory eyes with a recorder and notebook in hand. Stillness. I get to poke my fingers into holes and get a nasty bite from a bullet ant. Patience. I get to rush out at 4 a.m., forget to put on repellent, and come back with my first bot fly. Determination. I get to finally participate and add to the wealth of knowledge of these richly diverse organisms.

My goals to become a researcher of all things living and breathing on this earth is finally about to begin. With this trip, I intend to write my first publishable paper on a system or organism that has relevance to improving how we humans inhabit and treat this world. I hope to continue to learn how to become a better scientist while experiencing it with my bare mud-covered hands. I hope to participate in the betterment of this world and help improve the issue of the global warming of hearts.